Qbans vs. Non-Cubans Question

Joined Feb 2006
816 Posts | 0+
West Hartford, CT
Well, you know how non-cubans are usually quite descript in terms of what they are or type of tobacco used, ie. maduro, sun grown, corojo, criollo, ligero and the list goes on...

how come it doesnt seem like cubans have much variance in terms of tobacco types...i mesan im sure all different types are used and from different parts of cuba and grown differently, but is it just that cuban cigars/manufactures are more non-descript in identifying any specifics about the tobacco..

ex. if i have a maduro LFD double ligero, i know its maduro with a bunch of ligero, but when i browse qbans...i just dont ever see anything other than its brand name to tell me anything about the tobacco...

not sure if the question makes sense, but there must be some reason?
 
Cuba historically has only used one seed, Corojo or Criollo. While you are only seeing these two seeds used today they are still using variations and hybrids of these seeds. One reason is that these are technically two of only a small handful of deisease resistant cuban seeds. Some of their only other options would be connecticut seeds, Sumatra Seeds or Cameroon seeds. Cameroon only grows in Cameroon and not only that, if Cuba were to use any non cuban seeds it would greatly change the tradition they use. As you know, a realy cuban cigar only utilizes 100% Cuban tobacco grown from Cuban seeds. That said they do use a maduro variation of their seed which is actually just the corona or top leaf from the plant. You will only find that leaf used as the wrapper on the Limitada editions though. Hope this helps answer some of the questions out there.
 
Last thought. After the embargo you may very well see Cuban cigars rolled with various wrappers as the cost of cuban tobacco would be unreasonably expensive and need to be blended. I for one think this type of Cuban mix would make an excellent cigar. Earlier this year I had the privilage of smoking a cigar that featured an all dominican filler, a dominican sun grown binder and an authentic cuban wrapper. The cigar really blew my mind. If this is what we have to look forward to someday, there will be a whole reinvention of premium cigars on the horizon.
 
WRAPPER
The wrapper of a cigar is arguably the most important part of the cigar. Shade-grown under large muslin covers to ensure larger and finer leaves that turn darker in color towards the top of the plant, these leaves must be free of perforations and ideally should not exhibit any large veins when hand selected by the harvesters.

FILLER
Only long filler or full leaves are used for all of Cuba's 'Totalmente Hecho a Mano' cigars. Short filler leaves or tobacco scraps are only used in machine-made cigars.
Using the 'book' style method, rollers hand-fold the leaves along their length much like pages of a book to create channels through which the smoke of the cigar is drawn. The filler employs three different types of tobacco leaves:

>Ligero:
Dark and flavorful this leaf comes from the top of the plant and attributes its power to the natural oils produced
These leaves are slow burning and are placed in the middle of the cigar.

>Seco:
Lighter than Ligero in both color and flavor these leaves are harvested from the middle of the tobacco plant.

>Volado:
Used primarily for its excellent burning qualities Volado leaves impart little flavor on a cigar. These are harvested from the bottom of the tobacco plant.
All house blends are formed by mixing various combination of these three tobacco leaves.

>Binder:
The binder winds in a spiral down the length of the filler leaves once they have been combined. The binder is responsible for the structural integrity of the cigar as well as a portion of its flavor.
 
thanks alex, that makes sense now...so if the only maduro cubans are the limitada edicions of say cohiba, partagas, etc...are all limitada editions maduro ie. thats a distinguishing characteristic of the limitada editions?
 
Yes that is accurate. The corona leaf (top) of the plant is very limited as that priming only produces so many leaves and they are typically very hearty and small with very few leaves per priming. That is why only the Limitadas take advantage of them and it is also why you might find the Limitada edition of any particular brand stronger than its counterparts. The leaves at the top have more exposure to sun and the elements making it thick and it is also left on the plant the longest before being harvested which also makes it hearty. These factors make it stronger, more flavorful and have a higher nicotine content. It will require longer fermentation which is where the dark color comes in to play.
 
Alex, you are wise. Thanks for sharing your vast knowledge. All stuff I had no idea about...